Azumanga Epica
by Weener1
Summary: After Osaka finds a strange object in the forest the girls are thrown into a world of high strangeness that will destroy and rebuild their minds with new understanding. Is there any escape?
1. Discovery, The Takino Interior

**Welcome to Azumanga Epica! I warn you now, high strangeness ahead!**

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It was beautiful, warm, clear. _'A perfect night for walkin'_, Osaka thought.  
This wasn't totally strange of her to do. In the middle of the night she suddenly felt the burning urge to get up and leave Chiyo-chan's beach house for a walk in the forest.

'Wow, these trees are sorta creepy at night.', she thought although she seemed inexorably drawn deeper into the woods.  
Sticks and leaves crunched under her feet, clad only in sandals. Without even needing to think she drew herself through a patch of bushes and between a close copse of trees.  
"Hey, would ya look at that...", she spoke into the cool night air as she noticed the polished sphere buried under a small amount of fallen leaves. The sphere was no larger than a softball and absolutely smooth, as if made of crystal. The inside was cloudy, only slightly translucent.  
As she laid her fingers upon the ball a myriad of images flashed through her brain. Too fast to comprehend. She pulled back a moment.  
"That was weird.", she said.  
Yet, she placed her hands back around the sphere and lifted in to eye level. This time though, nothing happened save for a slight tingle at the tips of her fingers.  
"Hehe...wait'll everyone sees this.", she said as she made her way back to the house, giggling happily.

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"Yooomiiii!! WAKE UP!!", Tomo screamed mere centimeteres from her friend's ear.  
Yomi woke with a start, nearly tumbling off her bed.  
"Dammit, Tomo. What time is it"  
"Does it matter!? Chiyo-chan is making breakfast and it sure smells good! So, c'mon!", Tomo said as she yanked Yomi into an upright position.  
"Man! Osaka sleeps like a rock!", Tomo leaned over the still-sleeping girl and placed her lips near her ear. She took a deep inhalation of breath, but Yomi stopped the inevitable by wrapping her arm so tightly around Tomo's throat that not even a gurgle came out.  
"Let poor Osaka sleep. Now, let's go.", Yomi said as she yanked Tomo bodily downstairs.

"Do you want to go to the beach today, Sakaki-san?", Chiyo asked sweetly whilst still frying a pair of eggs.  
"Oh, yes. That would be nice.", Sakaki nodded.  
"I want to go to the beach too!", Kaorin had slid up, seemingly out of nowhere, blushing furiously and waving her hand like someone who has lost their mind.  
Chiyo simply smiled.  
"Everyone's invited"  
"That's if everyone finally gets up!", Tomo yelled, having escaped from Yomi's grip.  
Chiyo looked at the assembled girls and counted.  
'Miss Kurosawa, Sakaki, Kaorin, Tomo, Kagura, Yomi...'  
"Are Miss Yukari and Osaka still asleep?", she asked.  
"Yea! And...", Tomo began.  
"I'm awake. I'm awake.", Osaka mumbled as she plodded down the stairs, her eyes still half closed.  
"Hey! What's that ya got there!?", Tomo pointed to the shining globe that Osaka held in her left hand.  
"Oh, this?", Osaka sat down at the low table and placed the sphere upon it. Everyone crowded around. Even Chiyo abandoned her cooking to watch the spectacle.

Everyone seemed entranced by just how strange the thing looked. Tomo leaned closer to inspect it.  
"What the hell is it?", she asked.  
"I dunno. Found it in the woods when I went walkin' last night.", Osaka responded.  
"You went for a walk last night?", Chiyo piped in.  
"Uh-huh.", Osaka nodded. "I felt tha urge to walk, so I did"  
"This thing is really strange. It looks all misty inside.", Miss Kurosawa added.  
"Can I...touch it?", Tomo asked.  
"I don't know if you should be touching things that Osaka found in the woods.", Yomi interjected.  
"It's ok, Yomi. It won't hurt ya.", Osaka said.  
"Well, in that case...", Tomo streched her hand and placed her fingertips on the sphere. A moment later she withdrew them in shock.  
"It feels all..tingly.", Tomo said gazing at her fingers.  
"What the hell are you talking about?", Yomi said seriously.  
"I'm being serious. Give it a shot.", Tomo said.  
Yomi huffed and touched the globe as well. She also pulled her hand back when she felt the tingle rush through her body.  
"Strange"  
Everyone took their turn to brush their fingers across the object. Each one feeling the odd effects it had.  
"That thing is certainly not normal.", Miss Kurosawa said.  
"Maybe we should put it back where it came from.", Sakaki suggested.  
"Sakaki-san is right! It could be dangerous!", Kaorin added.

"Whass dangurush?", Yukari slurred as she plodded her way into the room obviously hung over.  
"This thing that Osaka found in the woods.", Miss Kurosawa said pointing to the sphere on the table.  
"Thish thing?", Yukari asked as she picked up the object.  
Everyone looked at her, and she simply stared back, eyes hooded.  
"What? Are my boobs popping out? What are ya all looking at?", Yukari asked.  
What was enticing everyone was the inside of the sphere. The once stagnant blue mist that seemed to cloud the crystal was now swirling and seeming to take on a life of it's own.  
"What...the hell is it doing?", Tomo asked.  
The globe began to shine with a radiant blue light.  
"S...S...Sakaki-san...I'm scared!", Kaorin took the opportunity to clutch on to Sakaki's sleeve.  
The first pulse of blue light filled the room and passed through the walls. "W...What on earth is this thing!?", Yukari held the object at arm's length.  
"Drop it, Yukari!", Kagura screamed.  
"I...I can't!", Yukari answered, her entire body shaking.  
Chiyo had buried her face in Osaka's shoulder and clutched her with the strength of someone two times her size. Osaka, on the other hand, sat transfixed by the ball.  
The second pulse of blue light filled the room with a brighter glow.  
"Someone go knock it from her hands! Cuz I can't move!", Kagura said.  
"I can't move either!", Yomi answered.  
"N...neither can I. My feet are stuck!", said Miss Kurosawa.  
Yukari let out a terrifying scream as the third blue pulse filled the room with a deep, distant blue shine. Nothing remained.

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Tomo's eyes cracked open to let in the dreary amount of light that was allowed in through the barred window. She went to stand, but found that she couldn't.  
"What the hell?", she thought out loud as she wiggled her arms. The movement was answered by a clattering of chains. She gazed upwards to see that her hands were manacled and chained abover her to the wall, a gray brick wall that formed the back part of a cell. An iron barred door took up the facing wall.  
"Hey! Where the hell am I!? Let me out of here!", she screamed, kicking her feet and making a dispicable amount of noise.  
No answer. No movement. Nothing.  
"Let me out!", she repeated the process.  
She waited again. Still nothing.  
She hung her head is dismay. _'Where is everybody?'_ , she thought.  
The darkness of the room retreated. The entire room filled with light. In this enhanced light she saw chains. On the end of those chains were hooks. On those hooks were her friends. Hung by their feet like side of beef, each one had their throat slit, their blood oozed onto the stone floor.  
Tomo buried her eyes from the sight.  
"NO NO NO!!!", she raged kicking her feet, the tears streaming from her tightly shut eyes.  
"THIS ISN'T REAL!! IT CAN'T BE REAL!!"

"Tomo, you're a failure.", came a voice.  
"Y...Yomi?", Tomo asked as she opened her eyes to see her friend standing in front of her.  
"Yes, it's me.", Yomi responded.  
"Y..you're alive?", Tomo asked.  
The others were still hanging, their blood still coating the floor.  
Yomi let her head hang back a bit, exposing a neat slit in her neck that exposed her bloody trachea.  
"W...what the hell? Yomi, what happened here?", Tomo asked, practically hyperventilating.  
"You couldn't save us, Tomo. You failed again. You always fail.", Yomi said, her voice hissing.  
"B..but Yomi. I...don't even know what happened!", it was a rare sight indeed to see Tomo cry.  
"You failed to save us! You let all your friends down! Look now! We're all dead!", Yomi motioned to the hanging corpses and began to laugh.  
One by one, each hanging body turned it's head and gazed at Tomo with dead eyes. Each one began to laught and taunt the now hysterical girl.  
"Tomo you failure"  
"You can't do anything right"  
"You're a waste Tomo"  
"Everyone said you were stupid and they were right"  
The laughter erupted and Tomo could do nothing but close her eyes and weep.

"I..I didn't mean to. I love you guys..."

Speaking those words, the laughter stopped.

Tomo opened her eyes once more. Her hands were free and she was able to stand. Nothing but blackness remained. Out of the blackness came the form of Yomi. Tomo cringed a bit, thinking it was another terror about to happen.  
"Y...Yomi?", she whispered, terrified.  
Yomi nodded in response. Tomo let out a sigh of relief when she saw no slit across her neck.  
"Yomi!! I just had the worst thing happen to me!", Tomo ran to her friend and buried her face in the other's ample chest.  
"I woke up and I was...", Tomo began her tale.  
"I know.", said Yomi.  
Yet the voice was not Yomi's. Tomo quickly broke the embrace and looked up to see a far different person. It was a man with wavy golden hair that shined even in the darkness. He wore a robe of the purest white. Yet, his face shone with a benevolent smile and comfortable blue eyes.

"...What the hell!? Where's Yomi!?", Tomo exploded.  
"She is fine. Please be calm.", the man said. His voice was definately reassuring.  
"Who are you? And, goddammit! Tell me where I am"  
The man smiled kindly.  
"My name is Samael and you are inside yourself."

"Cut the crap! Where am I, really!", Tomo asked.  
"I wouldn't lie.", Samael answered.  
"Then what was that freaky thing that just happened? Huh!? Was that real"  
"Only if you want it to be.", Samael answered.  
"No...I don't want that to happen. Ever...", Tomo shivered at the memory.

"Do you understand, Tomo Takino?", Samael asked.  
"Understand what!? That torture you put me through!? I should kick your ass right now"  
"Do you understand yourself, Tomo Takino?", Samael repeated.  
Tomo just growled in anger and swung her fist hard at Samael. Yet, her fist passed through thin air.  
"Are you embarassed about what you experienced? Are you scared?", Samael said from his new place behind her.  
"Scared!? I'm never scared!", Tomo growled.  
"No, that experience did not scare you. It terrified you. It was the worst fear you have ever felt.", Samael dragged through the words.  
Those words caused Tomo to pause. She shook in a combination of anger and fear.  
_'H..how can he know all this?'_, Tomo thought.  
"I know your worst fear, Tomo Takino. I have exposed you to it. Now, do you understand?", Samael answered her unspoken question.  
Tomo nodded. She knew. She feared being a failure. Sure, she goofed off too much. Sure, she wasn't the best student. But for anything and everything, she would never fail her friends. That was what truly made her scared. Her failure. She would succeed. She needed to. For everyone.

"What are you?", Tomo spoke.  
"I am a teacher"  
With that, Samael faded from view leaving Tomo alone with only the darkness to befriend her.

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**I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter! More strangeness ahead! (choo-choo!)**


	2. The Kaorin Experience

**Here's to every Kaorin lover! **

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Kaorin awoke to a strange feeling. Something entirely foreign to her. Someone...or some_THING_ was running its fingers across her stomach. She forced her eyes open in order to identify whomever was doing this to her.  
Her eyes met the top of a head covered with long, silky black hair.  
_'Could it be...'_, she thought.  
The face lifted and, indeed, it was Sakaki. She smiled at Kaorin whose face responded by turning ten different shades of red.  
"S...Sakaki-san?", Kaorin stuttered.  
"Shh...", Sakaki shushed her sweetly with a kiss.  
_'This is heaven!'_, Kaorin mused. _'I must have died and gone to heaven.'_  
She didn't care if she was dead, alive, whatever! She was simply content with Sakaki gently rubbing her fingers along her exposed stomach. As Kaorin sighed happily she knew this was her room. The bookshelves, the sky blue bedsheets. She was safe. Then, Sakaki began to lick. Starting with her bellybutton and moving upwards, pushing her shirt up as she progressed.  
Kaorin was suddenly filled with a new feeling. Something...different. Could it be...?

The door to the room flew open with a loud crash. Both girls stopped their intimate actions and gazed towards the doorway.  
"K...Kaori! What on Earth are you doing!?"  
It was her mother. She stomped angrily over to the bed and grabbed Kaorin by the wrist. Kaorin tried to blabber out an explanation but none came as her mother dragged her out of bed and out of the room. Slamming her hard into a wall, her mother stared daggers at her.

"What the HELL were you doing Kaori!? You better have a _DAMN_ good explanation!"  
"I...I...I don't..", Kaorin stammered.  
"Dammit Kaori! Don't try and hide things from me!"  
"I was...umm...just...", Kaorin's eyes filled with tears of despiration. She had never seen her mother this angry before.  
"Kaori,..are you a.._**lesbian**_!?", venom dripped from her words.  
Kaorin was speechless. She was confused. Was she a lesbian? She had never really tried to put a title on her feelings before.  
"Mom..uhh..I..", Kaorin was still having a difficult time formulating her words.  
_'Me..a lesbian?'_, she thought.  
"Kaori! You _ARE_ a lesbian, aren't you!", her mother stood aghast.  
Kaorin sunk to her knees, desparate.

"Kaorin! You're a freakin' lesbian!?", the voice was different this time. It was not her mother. It was Tomo.  
Tomo had seemingly made her appearance out of thin air and stood next to Kaorin's mother. Laughing.  
"Hahaah!! Kaorin's a lesbian! Kaorin's a lesbian!", Tomo taunted. Pointing and nearly crying from laughter.  
All Kaorin could do was blabber incoherently as her mother raged and Tomo laughed.  
"Kaori! You sinner! You are unnatural!", her mother yelled.

"Did I hear ya say Kaorin was a lesbian, Tomo?", this time the voice came from Osaka, the sweet, albeit dumb, girl.  
"No..this can't be happening..", Kaorin mumbled as she sat, crying before her mother and friends.  
Embarassment could not even begin to describe how she felt. She felt betrayed.  
"Hehe.", Osaka giggled. "I hear ya like girls Kaorin. That ain't normal ya'know."  
"That's right. It isn't normal!", Kaorin's mother reiterated.  
"But...why?", was all Kaorin could choke out as all three laughed at her. The laughter was piercing. Biting through every inch of her.

"But...I didn't do anything wrong"  
At those words the laughter stopped. Kaorin, surprised, pulled her head from beneath her hands and

"Hello, Kaori Aida.", came the sweet, comforting voice of a male. He stood where her mother had been moments before. Even though the man was nearly two and a half meteres tall and quite radiant, what really caught her eye was the surroundings.  
As far as her eye could see there were stars, planets, galaxies! Whirling through the cosmos. It was beyond beautiful.

"Who...are you?", Kaorin asked, sniffling.  
"My name is Samael.", he gave a curt bow.  
Kaorin felt drawn towards this man for some strange reason. Normally she would have run but.  
"Do you understand, Kaori Aida?", he asked.  
"Understand?", Kaorin asked, standing up amongst the whirling universal matrix.  
"You have come to the realization, but do you accept it?", Samael responded.  
"Realiz...So, you mean what just happened...wasn't real?", Kaorin asked.  
Samael simply smiled reassuringly. Giving no clues.  
Kaorin's eyes filled with tears once more. _'I don't even know this man! But he knows all about me! He knows my feelings'  
_"Kaori Aida, you have nothing to be ashamed of. You had an epiphany, but do you accept yourself?", he said.

He was right. She had nothing to be afraid of. Her worst fear was to not be accepted for her sexual prefrence. What had she done wrong?

_'I've done nothing wrong!'_, she reassured herself.

"I...know who I am. And no one else can change that!", Kaorin said to Samael with newfound confidence.  
Samael beamed a smile at her. "You are like these planets, Kaori Aida. Moving about with a purpose that no one seems to notice. Yet, only you know what to do. Only you understand the implications of your decision."

"I...understand. But...who are you?", Kaorin asked. She had been waiting to question the man that made her life more worthwhile.

"Kaori Aida, I am what you wish me to be."

With that he disappeared, leaving Kaorin to fully take in the meaning of herself.

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**Hey! For all those who are awaiting the epic conclusion to "The Battle of Thermopylae" you won't have to wait much longer! One chapter is left! The epic finale of the Battle of Thermopylae, coming soon!**

**-peace**

**-Jay**


	3. Sakaki, Crown Chakra

**Yep, yep! Goodness for all!**

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The darkness that had enveloped Sakaki for what seemed to be an eternity finally gave way to a street. A street just like the one she walked every day to school.

_'Something familiar!'_, she thought.  
As she walked the roadway, it seemed to be abandoned. No people, no animals. Simply bare.

"Yo!", came a voice from above her head.

She didn't need to look up to know who had come. Yet, she looked in anticipation of meeting Chiyo-chan's father once more.

"Hello there, Sir.", she said to the floating yellow pseudo-cat and gave a bow.  
"Good morning, Sakaki-san. Do you know where you are?", he asked.  
"Um...this looks like a street near my house"  
"No. No. Sakaki-san, look.", he pointed his handless, jointless arm towards the end of the road. Rounding the corner was a small grey cat.  
"Kamineko!", Sakaki whispered.  
The cat plodded its way along the road, intent on reaching her. Her mind raced.  
_'Do I pet him? He will probably bite me'  
_The small cat stopped in front of her feet and looked up at her with his cute, hazel eyes. The with an air of malice, flashed his shark-toothed grin.

"Does he scare you, Sakaki-san?", Chiyo-chan's father asked.  
"N..no. Not at all.", Sakaki stammered.  
"I said...does he scare you!?", his voice became more insistant.  
"No! No he does not"  
**"I SAID"**  
Sakaki felt something slam into her back. Her body jolted foward with the impact. Her head felt light, as if it was floating amongst the clouds.  
**"...DOES HE SCARE YOU"**  
This time his voice came from inside her head and there was nothing she could do, he was inside her. He controlled her steps, her movements. He wouldn't even allow her to think straight.  
She fell to her knees, she was not herself.  
**"HE SCARES YOU! DOESN'T HE!?",** the voice boomed, filling her head. She wanted to scream but nothing, nothing at all was hers anymore.  
She was moving closer, her face bringing itself closer to Kamineko. His teeth glistened in the meager sunlight.

**"I DO SCARE YOU DON'T I!?",** the voice was that of Kamineko. She could hear him speak! It was a mocking gesture, a challenge.

**"HE SCARES YOU SAKAKI-SAN! HE IS THE SPIRIT CAT! A DEMON! A DEMON!",** the voice of Chiyo-chan's father had taken on an air of insanity.

**"I KNOW WHAT YOU THINK SAKAKI-SAN! YOU FEAR ME! YOU FEAR MY WRATH! MY ANGER! THE ANGER OF** **ALL ANIMALS! YOU FOOLISH GIRL!",** Kamineko hissed with malice, challenging Sakaki to do something.

Despite her sweating brow and convoluted mind Sakaki managed to whisper.

"I don't fear you."

Kamineko vanished. The pressure on her mind disappeared. Even the ground was now different. It turned from concrete to grassland. Under her own control once more, she sat up. Her breath still came in gasps as she gazed across the new scene. One of those gasps caught in her mouth at what she saw.  
Walking not far off, was a horse, pure white. Absolutely beautiful as it grazed upon the weeds. As it raised it head though something seemed different, exotic.  
It was the horn, a twisted, gorgeous horn of pure ivory that spiraled from the horse's forehead.

"A unicorn...", she whispered.

The beast seemed to hear her and it plodded soft footsteps across the field. Next to the marvelous beast materialized a man wearing a white robe and with the most beautiful locks of golden hair cascading around his face.

"Sakaki-san. I welcome you. My name is Samael. This is you.", he motioned to the world around her. All at once it seemed filled with creatures. The unicorn. Through the sky flew a golden bird. Off in the distance, a flying serpent, a dragon.  
More and more creatures that she only thought existed in myth appeared and filled the plain, looking at her and her alone.

"W...What is this about?", she asked. Absolutely flabbergasted.

"Sakaki-san, don't let your gift deter you.", Samael said.

"What...gift?", Sakaki slumped back, confused.

"You can speak with animals. Did you not know that?", Samael answered.

"I..can? Then why can't I hear it?"

"Of course, it will not be like normal speech. Animals can feel your emotions and you, in turn, feel theirs."

"Then why...does Kamineko bite me? He should know that I am not going to hurt him.", Sakaki questioned.

Samael shook his head as he laid one hand upon the unicorn's back.

"It is you who is making the error. Your love for animals clouds your mind. It pushes the method of communication away. To truly know what the creature is thinking you must reach higher levels of conciousness and not allow yourself to be taken over by your lust."

Sakaki blushed. She had never thought that it was her that was wrong. She always had attributed it to Kamineko himself.

"So..I need to...concentrate?", she asked.

"Simply clear your mind. Animals will accept you, for humans are nothing more than animals themselves."

Sakaki nodded gruffly. "I will do my best."

"Good. I am glad you have come to an understanding.", Samael said and smiled.

"One more thing...", Sakaki said, embarassed.

"Yes?"

"Is Chiyo-chan's father...real? What is he?", she asked.

Samael smiled and pointed his index finger to his forehead. There appeared a light. An indigo shine that illuminated the world and Sakaki's mind as well.

"He is you.", Samael said and faded, leaving Sakaki alone with the various beasts.

Sakaki slowly approached the unicorn as Samael faded from view. She stood before the marvelous beast and slowly stretched her hand. Yet, she stopped.  
_'May I...pet you?'_, Sakaki mentally asked, concentrating on every word.

An impulse was returned. Nothing but a slight nudge of the brain. Yet, that simple feeling expressed every method of confirmation. She knew it was positive. This new discovery.

She slowly reached her and out and stroked the smooth coat of the animal. Smiling and blushing, she was finally content.

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**Short, yes, but I believe it got the point across. Hope it was enjoyable!**

**Kaorin: Why does Sakaki-san get special powers!?**

**Jay: Didn't you go home yet?**

**Kaorin: ...Maybe.**

**Jay: SHE gets special powers because SHE cooks me dinner.**

**Kaorin: Y'know this won't be so funny once I tell the cops that you...**

**Jay: Lying is bad for you!**


	4. The Mizuhara Experiment

Yomi awoke from the encompassing darkness in strange comfort. She was laid out on a white sheeted bed in a stark white room. The room was bare save for the bed and herself. A steel door painted gunmetal gray stood out on the opposite wall. 

_'Looks like a hospital.',_ she thought.

Yet, she knew the room was far too empty for any hospital anywhere on the planet. She softly placed her feet on the floor and stood as quietly as she could. Tiptoeing to the door, she tested the handle. It was unlocked. Softly, she turned it and pushed the door open on a crack. A white hallway with others branching off of it stretched in either direction. At the end of each was a set of double doors that further made this place resemble an infirmary.

Yomi stepped into the hallway and closed the door behind her. Upon examining the hall, she noticed that the only room was the one she had awoken in.

_'How strange.'_, she thought as she walked towards the double doors at the end of the hall. She passed by other hallway branches that were pure mirror images of the one she was using. She glanced down one for a moment and noticed the double doors at the end shift a bit as if something was behind them.

She stopped, her heart poundd in her chest. Her mind raced with what might be behind them.

_'A person? A...monster? No...monsters aren't real...'_

A head poked out from between the doors and smiled.

"Hey, Yomi!", it called.

"Tomo!", Yomi immediately recognized her friend. She never thought she would be so happy to see the bane of her existance. Without hesitation, she rushed towards Tomo. Halfway to the doors, Tomo stopped smiling and with a scream disappeared back behind the flapping double doors.

"Tomo!!", Yomi, enraged, took off after her friend. Her screams echoed through the halls. Yomo pushed past the first set of doors only to come upon another labyrinth of hallways.

"Yomi!! Help me!!", Tomo screamed from some indistinct point.

"I'm coming!", Yomi shouted back, moving in the direction she believed the voice to be coming from.

Slamming through another set of doors, she came to a dead stop before a dead end. With nowhere else to turn she reversed and pushed at the doors again. They did not budge. Kicking and screaming didn't work either.

"Yomi!! They've got me!!", Tomo's call ended in a long, baleful scream that slowly faded.

Screaming in terribly grief, Yomi slid down the doors and wept bitterly into her hands.

"Tomo...I...tried.."

A light broke through her eyelids and forced her to look up. Wiping tears away she noticed a symbol inexorably drawing itself of the opposite wall. First a circle of pure light. Within that formed a series of complex arches and crosses, seemingly without order. Upon completion it shined brightly and from it emerged a glowing man.

Yomi shook with terror, thinking that whomever had taken Tomo had come back to get her as well.

Yet, the man just smiled. And that smile melted all her fears.

"Hello, Koyomi Mizuhara. I am Samael."

"W...what?", Yomi asked.

"I have come to bring you your salvation."

"B...but my friend. She's somewhere in here. She was taken! Can't you do anything!?", Yomi blurted.

"Taken? Taken by whom?", Samael smiled and leaned foward as he asked this.

"I..I don't know, but I can't get to her.", Yomi felt the tears coming back.

"But you did try. Did you not?", he asked.

"I..did my best."

With those words the hospital-esque area faded into one of crystal walls. Yomi gazed at her surroundings to see that they had reappeard in the exact center of a crystalline pyramid. The outside was nothing but light. Pure, unadulterated light.

Yomi was speechless and simply stared at Samael in awe.

"Koyomi Mizuhara, don't you realize that you've done enough? You do all you can but you never think you achieve. Your friend, Tomo Takino, knows that you try your hardest despite all odds. Yet, this portion of you transfers over to how you view your physical self as well.", Samael said.

Yomi blushed slightly.

"You mean...my diets?", Yomi asked sheepishly.

Samael nodded.

"Perfection should never be the goal for anyone. Realistic expectations are what shall truly drive you to higher levels of understanding. You are but one spirit in the vast universe. Your mind can achieve much. Set for yourself what you can expect. Not what you would like to expect."

Yomi nodded.

"Was that all...just a test you gave me or something?"

"I am not testing you.", Samael answered.

"Then who is?", Yomi pushed for a real answer.

Samael expressionlessly turned his back and faded away. Yomi rushed foward.

"No...don't..go.."

Around her were walls of crystal. Her senses reached to the stars.

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**Jay: Told you ya weren't fat.**

**Yomi: Lying bastard. chugs Slimfast**


	5. Kagura, Смерть Неизвестный

**Enjoy the high strangeness!**

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Kagura awoke in what seemed to her to be Chiyo-chan's beach house. Yet, upon looking around something seemed...out of place. The main room was dark. Not pitch black but dark enough to elect a sense of forboding in the normally chipper athlete.

"H..hello? Is...anyone here?", Kagura called as she took a few anxious steps. Only more silence answered her.  
Something caught her peripheral vision at her right and she swept around, quivering slightly. Nothing was visable to her. Nothing out of the ordinary. She moved slowly into the area she had seen the movement and turned a full three hundred sixty degrees. Nothing was there.

_'Odd.'_, she thought as she cautiously moved toward the stairs that led to the upper floor. As she placed her foot on the first step she noticed something strange. No matter how hard she stomped her foot, no sound was made nor was it felt by her leg. Shivering, she mounted the next step, then the next and so on until finally making it to the upper landing.

She glanced into the rooms to her left and right. One was where she had stayed along with Chiyo-chan and Kaorin. The other was the room that Tomo, Yomi and Osaka occupied. Each room was dark. The shadows seemed to dance within, making her mind create certain imaged of terror and fear.

Her teeth chattered as she backed out of the room.

_'What's wrong with me? What do I have to be scared of?'_

Another flit of movement caught her eye. This time it moved through each room simultaniously. She got a better look as a strangely amorphous form slithered ominously through the rooms. It seemed to be composed of pure shadow, something totally indistinct. She fought the urge to bolt down the stairs and simply stared at the writhing darkness.

"Kaaaguuurraaa...", the darkness seemed to hiss.

"How...W...what?", Kagura sputtered words as she shook. Her body wanted to move but the air seemed to cold and forboding.

"Kagura...you know ussss.", the writhing forms hissed. The air around her seemed to be filled with creatures that one could not look directly at. If she tried, it simply was not there.

"I...I..", Kagura's voice seemed to freeze up. Her mouth could do nothing but open and close.

"Kagura...come join ussss.", the voice came in multiple, filling the air.

**"N...NO!",** Kagura shouted and her body seemed to break free of whatever vile spell had been holding her back. She did the only thing she could think of doing. She ran.

Bolting down the stairs, her footfalls emitted no sound nor did the impacts tire her legs. Even if her legs were not tired her lungs still felt the exertion.

She ran out the front door, past indistingushable floating forms that wrapped their cold tendrils about her body, feeding on her life-force.

"Don't run, Kagura...Don't run...", the voice echoed through the forest that she had just entered.

She cringed at the voice as it sent shivers down her spine, yet she kept running despite her growing exhaustion. She flitted past tree limbs that seemed to stretch to grab her. She bolted past wispy creatures that tried to entangle her in their translucent arms. She kept running through the forest as the voice kept laughing at her. The laughter boomed and she ran. Panting, wanting to stop, she couldn't. No matter how hard she tried the gauntlet of forest and misty forms seemed neverending. She needed to stop running, her breath came in raspy gasps and her lungs burned. Her head swam with lack of oxygen.

_'I need to...stop...don't be...afraid.',_ she told herself.

She stopped, falling to the ground and gasping for air. Soon, that laughter that haunted her stopped and the wispy creatures halted their assault. Something had changed. Something felt...warm.

"Kagura-san.", a comforting male voice said.

She sat up, her newly recovered breath caught in her throat as she stared at the glowing man above her. They were both surrounded by a swirling matrix of nearly liquid material that in parts shined a pale blue.

"Who..the hell..?". she asked indescriminately.

"I am Samael. I hope your understanding was furthered. Was it Kagura-san?", he asked with a smile.

"What...?", was all she asked. Something about him calmed her. Had she been in her right mind she would have most likely decked him with a punch to the jaw.

"Your fears and failures, Kagura-san.", he said.

"Wha...Where you the one that created that world...or..something?", she asked.

He shook his head. "Kagura-san, there is much that you can do. Simply stretch your mind to encompass it."

Kagura glared at him. "Why was I terrified then? And why couldn't I stop running, dammit!?"

Samael let out a small chuckle. "Kagura-san, you do that to yourself. You punish your inadiquacies by physical exertion. Hence, by struggling with your fear of the unknown, you ran yourself nearly to exhaustion as compensation. Do you understand?"

Kagura's jaw dropped. She had never realized that. But she knew it was the truth. Her lack of talent in acedemic studies she made up for in physical prowess. Yet, she knew that sports and such would never replace her lack of 'brain power' so she punished herself. She quite often ran to exhaustion, pushing herself to her limit. Letting her one true talent flow. Thus, she feared that which she did not know or could not understand. Her lack of insight would be her downfall so she had formulated her own ways of avoiding and dealing with that.

"I...I get it.", she mumbled.

"Excellent, Kagura-san. Do not punish yourself for a closed mind. Let your mind open on its own. The knowledge of the universe will flow in on its own. Be attune to it. Let your soul accept it."

Samael faded out of existance before her eyes. She sat within the bubble of swirling liquidity, letting her mind wander for once without repricussion.

"I see.", she whispered.

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**More than halfway to the end. What shall be the final outcome of this terrible adventure?**


	6. The Mihama Matrix

**Poor little Chiyo-chan. It almost feels cruel to write this chapter. Oh well (cackles manically)**

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**BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!**

Chiyo woke with a start at the sound of her alarm clock. Yawning, she glanced at the time.

"10:10! Ohmygosh, I really slept late!", she exclaimed.

She hopped from her bed, but then realized that something was strange.

_'Why am I wearing clothes? And my hair...I never leave my hair tied up...'_

She walked about her room in an odd manner, as if she was expecting a trap. She opened her door and exited into the upper hallway. Everything seemed in place, nothing different.

_'I must have just fallen asleep is all.'_, she plastered a smile back onto her face. No worries any longer.

"Good morning, Chiyo!", a voice called from the main foyer as she passed by.

"Daddy!", Chiyo said happily as she bounced happily down the stairs to her father.

Her father was a tall man, just over two metres tall. His face was well formed and handsome. His hair was the same stark orange colour as his daughter's.

"How are you today, daddy?", Chiyo piped up.

Her father smiled slightly and said, "I need to talk to you about something."

"Oh? What's that?", Chiyo asked curiously.

"This.", her father said, pulling a piece of paper from the breast pocket of his coat.

Chiyo examined the paper closely. I was her recent report card from the semester that had just ended. Of course, it was filled with superb grades.

"What about it, daddy?", she asked sweetly.

"This math grade, Chiyo. I see you only got a 90.", he said.

"Math was hard this semester! I tried my best though!", Chiyo said with a smile.

"I only accept the best from you, Chiyo! I expect perfection!", her father raged, tearing the report card into small fragments.

"B..but daddy!", the little girl whimpered. "You always tell me to try my best!"

"Your best is perfection!", her father screamed.

Chiyo couldn't bear to form words. Her father never yelled. She simply began to cry.

"Don't you dare cry, Chiyo! You want to see tears!? I weep tears for you! Tears of punishment.", her father said.

Chiyo watched in horror as tears poured from her father's eyes. Not normal, clear tears though, but thick, black, oily tears that dropped in gobs upon the carpet.

"D...Daddy!", Chiyo shrieked.

"Not good enough, Chiyo! You were not good enough!", he said as the tears came in streams, quickly flooding the carpet in the liquid.

Chiyo turned and ran for the front door. Slipping along the oil as she did so.

"Where do you think you're going!?", her father chuckled.

She made the mistake of turning around just as tiny spots of flame leaped from her father's eyes and ignited the oil with a loud roar. The room was quickly being engulfed in flame.

"Perfection is what I expected, my dear daughter. That I did not get. This is your punishment for your imperfections!"

The flames were leaping at Chiyo's feet, burning her legs. Screaming in terror, she reached for the doorhandle and pulled. The door would not budge no matter how hard she pushed and pulled. Flames began to lick at her back. Her shirt was singed. She cried out in pain and fear.

"I tried my best! **I REALLY DID!**"

The room, the flames, everything retreated in one fell swoop like a cosmic eraser had simply done away with the scene. It was replaced with the purity and calm of a blue sky. She stood in the center of the sky, the soft clouds floating around her like playful animals. One cloud roiled and began to transform before her eyes. It took on the form of a white-clothed man with strikingly beautiful hair and a reassuring smile of pure compassion.

"Hello, Chiyo Mihama. I am Samael. I have come to expose your truths."

"H...hello.", the small girl squeaked shyly.

"Don't be afraid, Chiyo Mihama. Your mind has reached new heights."

"Wh...What?", she asked, looking around quickly. Even the burns on the back of her legs were gone.

"You struggle with your goals, Chiyo Mihama. Being always told how perfect you are makes you feel alienated, does it not? Inside you push away those feelings and focus on your own forms of perfection. Although, your best is not as perfect as it would seem, is it not? Your expectations of yourself have been poisoned by outside influences."

"T..They are?", Chiyo asked.

Samael nodded. "You do your best at everything. Yet, you are discouraged when you do fail. Do not believe that you have failed. Believe that you at least tried. Success never comes on golden wings."

All those times she has felt a failure. It was like a knife. The only one that could ever reassure her after failing was Sakaki and even then it was hard.

"Stand up for your worth, Chiyo Mihama. Revel in the effort."

Chiyo smiled happily. "I will!"

"Never lose trust in yourself, Chiyo Mihama.", Samael said and faded once more into an amorphous cloud, floating along.

The vast expanse of sky allowed for Chiyo's mind to fill it, letting every corner of the universe make its way into her conciousness.

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**If anyone can figure out the significance of the time Chiyo woke up I'll give them...A NEW CAR! (authenticity pending)**

**-peace**

**-Jay**


	7. The Foundations of Tanizaki and Kurosawa

**Hey hey! Decided to smash 2 chapters together here.**

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A door slamming woke up Yukari from the best sleep she had had in months.

"God damn...fuckin'...", she mumbled a series of incoherent curses as she rolled over and forced her eyes open to took at who had entered her room.

Minamo Kurosawa stood at the door, smiling in a seemingly happy state.

"Dammit, Nyamo. Why do you always have to wake me up?", Yukari grumbled.

Minamo's smile quickly became a malicious sneer as she advanced towards the bed Yukari lay in.

Yukari rolled into a sitting position and regarded her friend with confusion.

"What the hell you doing, Nyamo?"

Minamo drew a long, sleek knife from her waistband and held it aloft.

"Oh, nothing...", Minamo hissed.

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Minamo's inner thoughts raged against her actions.

_'What am I doing?!'_

Yet she could not stop her mouth from forming that grin just as she could not stop her arm from reaching fo the knife.

_'Yukari, run!!'_

Any attempt at speech warped her words into something evil and perverted.

_'Run, Yukari! I can't control myself!'_

"Oh, nothing..." was instead the response she gave.

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Minamo's hand reached out and touched Yukari's shoulder only to throw her to the ground with such a force as to nearly dislocate Yukari's shoulder.

Yukari looked up as her friend hovered over her with the weapon raised high.

"I'm going to eat your heart, Yukari. Be still and it will end quickly.", Minamo cajoled.

Without hold, Yukari screamed. Kicking and flailing, she tried to push Minamo away.

"Be still Yukari, you won't feel a thing.", Minamo said as she held Yukari to the floor with an iron grip

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_'No! Please no! Whoever is doing this...no no no no!!',_ Minamo pleaded with whatever unseen force was controlling her.

The only response was a series of images that flashed through her mind. Things she would never think of seeing. She was assaulted with images of Yukari bleeding and cut open on the ground, her internal organs spilled about like some gruesome abstract. And that feeling...

_'Why?! Why!? What have I ever done to deserve this!?'_, Minamo wailed inwardly.

She couldn't shake the feeling no matter how hard she tried. She wanted to eat Yukari's heart. She had the carnal need to. She would have cried if her body would respond.

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Yukari narrowly escaped the downward stab of the knife. It slammed nearly three inches into the floor beside her chest. Minamo ripped the knife from the carpet with a growl.

"Yukari!", Minamo said with a gutteral cast to her voice.

"Hell no, you ain't Nyamo!", Yukari yelled, sending an unexpected blow to Minamo's jaw.

Her head flew back and Yukari was able to escape her grasp.

"What the hell are you?", Yukari raged.

Minamo stood up on shaky legs, letting the knife fall from her hands and land soundlessly on the carpeted floor.

"I...I'm sorry."

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It seemed to Minamo that whatever beast had been inhabiting her had been knocked loose by Yukari's blow. All of her senses returned. She no longer felt the need to harm her best friend. The bloodlust had left her.

"I'm sorry, Yukari. I..I had no idea..."

Upon locking eyes with her friend the world seemed to dissolve within on itself. Everything being whisked away like mere dust.

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Yukari also watched as the world fell to pieces around her.

"What the hell!?", she screamed as literal blocks of existance fell away.

The former scene of her bedroom was quickly replaced by a beautiful setting sun over a lightly crashing ocean. The rug had become soft, damp sand beneath her feet.

"Holy crap...", her mouth hung wide as Kimura's would have during swim meets. Speechless, she watched as from the waves, a radiant man emerged.

"Yukari Tanizaki, welcome to your existance.", he spoke.

"And um...who the hell might you be?", Yukari asked bluntly.

"I am Samael. I have come to teach you how to overcome."

"Huh? I'm a teacher, I can teach myself thank you very much!", Yukari accosted.

Samael shook his head.

"Yet betrayal still eludes your judgement."

"...What?"

"When your friend, your best friend, came for you...you fell deeper into your fear. A fear you have yet to understand."

"You mean when Nyamo just tried to stab me? Hell, sure I'd feel bad if Nyamo DID try that but I think I know that wasn't her."

Samael smiled, his grin widening.

"If your best friend did betray you, what would you do? Would you give in, panic, what?"

"I'd sock her in the jaw, that's what I'd do!", Yukari tried to keep her voice upbeat.

Samael turned back to the water.

"What you share is more than can be cured by a simple punch. What is to be solved is solved with the mind, Yukari Tanizaki."

Samael retreated back beneath the waves, letting Yukari ponder her one true fear, betrayal.

Yukari sat down on the sand, all of a sudden she didn't feel like swimming much anymore.

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Minamo's world reemerged as a narrow room with tall sandstone walls. Along the walls were engraved symbols that she could only equate with ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs.

"Minamo Kurosawa, welcome.", came the sweet voice of a man from behind her as she ran her fingers across the glyphs.

She turned in terror, not knowing how the man could have gotten into a room with no doorways.

"W..who are you?", she stuttered.

"Minamo Kurosawa, my name is Samael and I have come with hope."

"H...hope?"

"Loss of control Minamo Kurosawa, what do you do then? Do you leave it to its own devices, do you let the cosmic wheel spin or do you reverse that wheel and make it your own?", Samael asked.

"What...do you mean?", she asked.

"Think. Let your mind find that answer."

It didn't take long. Minamo knew that what he meant was her strange posession at the hands of whatever force had almost caused her to kill Yukari.

"Did I...take control?", she asked.

"Minamo Kurosawa, had you not taken control you would not be here. Let that be a lesson. Let your soul dominate what you fear most.", Samael advised.

"Yes,...I will.", Minamo held back tears at her near failure.

Samael simply left the room in a shine, letting the ancient glyphs become illuminated by wisdom.

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**Ah Mah Gahd! Only one more character to go!**


	8. The Kasuga Revelation, Empty Space

The darkness formed itself into a complex geometric castle that defied physics before Osaka's eyes. To her left and right were two staircases made of the same white marble as the rest of the structure. The only diffrerence was that these stairs turned upside down in a spiral halfway up the massive castle. Also, there was nothing supporting the complex, it seemed to simply float on the wings of the darkness. 

"Wow...that's neato", Osaka said in awe.

She mounted the staircase to her right and slowly ascended it. Halfway up she placed her hand against the cold stone of the staircase as it first turned in on itself. Yet, using her judgement she couldn't help but place her foot on the first twisted stair. To her surprise and terror, it stuck. Stuck as if helf on by gravity that should not be there. She smiled and placed her other foot gingerly next to the first. That stuck also. She giggled happily as she stood at a 35 degree angle.

"Heheheh! This is fun!", she said as she walked in the spiral in a full corkscrew formation. The staircase ended on a platform that overlooked a bizzare sight.

Before her eyes whirled an emormous celadon wheel. It stretched across her entire field of view. It was a spoked wheel that corouscated with symbols and various images. There was no sound emitted from it, it simply twirled in silence. This sight awed Osaka, leaving even her speechless. She could do nothing but be transfixed by the spiraling disc.

"Wow...that's even neato-er...", she said, letting her eyes go out of focus while staring.

"You seem interested, Ayumu Kasuga.", came a voice from behind her.

She turned to see a man in white, shining gloriously behind her.

"Hiya there!", she waved happily at the glowing man.

"Greetings, my name is Samael. I am glad to finally get to speak with you."

"I guess ya already know my name. Must have mind powers or summin...", Osaka's eyes went out of focus again as she spoke.

"Do you know what that is, Ayumu Kasuga?", Samael said, indicating the whirling wheel behind the spaced out girl.

"I dunno, but it looks real pretty goin' 'round and 'round and 'round like that.", Osaka explained.

"That, is the cosmic disc, the Spiral Generator. The source of all knowledge.", Samael said.

"All knowledge eh? So...can it tell me how much wood a woodchuck could chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?", Osaka asked then giggled furiously.

Samael smiled happily. "I show you this because your understanding is marvelous."

"Understandin'? I can barely understand math most of tha time, how can ya expect me to get how tha universe works?", Osaka cocked her head.

"Ayumu Kasuga,", Samael put his hand on the girl's shoulder, it felt abnormally warm. "Your mind stretches far beyond that of your friends. The others, I had to enlighten them. You, though, need no such teaching. You already understand yourself and much, much more."

Osaka didn't seem to comprehend what Samael was saying at all.

"Hey, yer hand is really warm and stuff. Are you gonna explode!?", she took a step back in fright.

Samael chuckled, showing much patience. "No, I am simply here to explain that you may be called foolish and stupid but you are far from it. For the others, they had a fear that was exploited. You, you have full control. I am here to teach your final lesson about the universe."

"Ah, so are you afraid of anythin'? Like I think yer scared of people that dun get stuff and...stuff. If I was like 'Hey mister! I dun get what yer tryin' to teach me!', I think you'd be all messed up and stuff.", Osaka rambled.

Samael paused.

"What?", he asked.

"People scare ya. If ya try so hard and people are like 'I dun wanna change!', you'd not know what to do...or summin'", Osaka shrugged.

Samael's face changed. His smile dropped. His eyes flew open in sheer disbelief.

"What...are you saying? Are you saying that I have fears too?"

"Uh-huh! We all got fears mister.", Osaka nodded intelligently.

"But I...", Samael placed his hand across his chest. "I let my emotions go a long time ago! I have no emotion! No fear!"

"Everyone's got emotions. Like, how Kaorin likes girls and how all of my friends got feelins' of one sort or another for each other. We all gotta feel summin'. Even you.", Osaka explained.

Samael was speechless. He knew the girl was smart in her own way. But this! This was unexpected. It was blasphemy!

"I...I AM A SERAPHIM! EMOTION IS NAUGHT TO ME!", Samael raged, his eyes becoming dark and hooded.

"I'm sure ya still make decisions. Like, when I had ta choose between the melon bread or the bean paste bread! That was the hardest thing ever! But, I did it. Even though I didn't win...", Osaka's voice trailed off into the darkness.

Samael clutched his chest, and grimaced as if in pain. Below his contorted hands a blue glow shined through.

"But...I...I am ascended!", he was having trouble speaking.

"Ya ok mister?", Osaka asked, noticing his painful expression. "Did ya eat sumthin bad?"

"Feelings...fears...", Samael doubled over. **"I UNDERSTAND!!"**

He opened his arms and shouted to the empty sky. The blue glow erupted in a wide beam of light from the center of his chest and quickly engulfed the entire platform. Osaka had no time to react as she was covered by the cerulean light.

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Tomo had been sitting in the dimness for awhile. She had no idea how long it had been since Samael had left her but she had done some thinking in the meantime. She had come full-circle in the conclusion that she, fearing failure and disappointment, would not let anyone down. She woud still be herself, yes, but she would see things a lot more carefully.

"Hmm?", she mumbled as the first point of light she had seen since Samael left twinkled off in the distance.

As she stood up, it grew in size. She stepped towards it, curious as to it's source. Suddenly, it grew enormous, rushing towards her at speeds unheard of. Before she could turn her back to run the blue beam had already overtaken her and covered her completely in its amazing shine.

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Kaorin had spent her time alone happily. She smiled knowing that she was no different than anyone else. She felt at ease for once about the subject of her sexuality. She had a plan now, a plan to get to know Sakaki better. To see if she felt the same.

Kaorin blushed as she thought about the two of them together. Gazing at one of the far off galaxies that platterned the sky, she noticed a blue light shining at the center of one.

"Wow, that's beautiful!", she commented as the light became stronger.

Then she noticed, it was growing and getting nearer! Panicked, she ran. She didn't get far before the light washed over her, cascading further into the distance.

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Sakaki concluded that she couldn't be happier. She had been becoming quite adept at using her newfound ability to talk with each and every animal that populated the meadow. She had reached out and felt every emotion, every want and realized that humans truly are animals, our needs and wants are practically the same. She was sitting, petting a baby tiger as they each watched the perpetually setting sun. Near the orange disc, shined a blue light. Sakaki, thinking it was a shooting star, closed her eyes and began to wish.

_'One day, I wish to be loved as much as I love all animals.'_

The wish was sincere, blossoming within her for years. Yet, as she opened her eyes, all she saw was azure light filling her vision and covering her body and soul.

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Yomi sat beneath the shining capstone of the crystal pyramid and smiled in happy contemplation of her first true revelation. She reveled in finally being able to see her accomplishments. Finally, she was able to view herself on equal ground with everyone else.

_'Guess I better stop those diets.'_, she smiled and placed her hand on her slender waist.

She didn't even turn an eye to the shining capstone as it filtered pure blue light into the pyramid interior and let it wash over Koyomi Mizuhara without her notice.

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Kagura was intenely interested in the liquid-like walls of the chamber she had been placed in. She found it curious that no matter how far she walked, the watery boundries never seemed to get any nearer. Eventually, she just gave up and was content with staring at the wobbling blueness within them. For once she didn't feel like exerting her energy. She was content to simply wonder, to try and comprehend the unknown.

_'Hmm, that one is different.'_, she thought as one of the blue shines became fully distinct and much brighter than its companions. Then it grew in size until it seemed to actually be moving towards her.

"Holy crap!", Kagura exclaimed moments before her body was taken by the rush of pure azure.

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Chiyo had spent her time skipping about the blue sky. She felt at peace, free from all of her former worries about being 'good enough'. As long as she tried her best, that was good enough!

Prancing through the wispy clouds she noticed something odd. One cloud in particular seemed to be spiralling about an invisible axis.

"That's interesting.", Chiyo noted moments before a lance of blue light rocketed out of the center of the wheel-cloud and encompassed her form.

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Yukari, finally realizing that betrayal was what she feared the most, decided to dip her feet in the ocean. The water was refreshingly warm, but she ahd only taken a few steps in when something across the waves disturbed her.

"Well, that's something you don't see every day.", she said, noting the disturbance of white-water in the distance. The disturbance quickly grew enough so that she saw what was causing the rapid splashing. It was a bright beam of blue light that shot towards her, gliding but millimeters above the surface of the water. She only had enough time to register fear for a moment before the beam overtook her.

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Minamo ran her fingers along the mysterious runes carved into the walls of the sandstone chamber. There, she understood that to control what happened in her life was her responsibility. She would not let her mother decide when she should marry, for one thing!

The room began to take on an odd cast. The glyphs illuminated, shining with a sky blue light. Turning around, she noticed that the entire chamber was filled with the light. It seemed to be emerging from the floor, filling it like a pool before climbing through the air to fill the chamber like so much empty space.

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**One more chapter to go! Don't miss out!**

-peace


	9. Epilogue, A Condition

**Just a short epilogue to this tale. Hope it's ok!**

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Tomo burst awake, gasping for what air could be had. She felt around her. She was lying on the floor of her room at Chiyo's beach house, a blanket covered her like any normal night. Shakily, she crawled from beneath the sheet and stood up. She still had her sleeping clothes on, not that that was strange.

Yomi lay unconcious in the bed positioned next to her floor spot. The girl looked as normal as could be, yet Tomo still approached her with caution.

_'Why am I scared of Yomi?'_, she questioned herself.

Tomo peered over the sleeping girl, unconciously looking to her neck and seeing it whole and unmolested. The fear immediately faded, everything was as normal as could be.

With a sigh of relief Tomo turned to lay back under her sheet and sleep, for she was strangely exhausted.

Yet, as she strode the few steps back to her floor space, arms embraced her from behind. She didn't have to turn to know that it was Yomi who was hugging her. She didn't even have to think.

"Tomo...you're ok.", Yomi sighed happily.

Tomo went wide-eyed at the strange actions of her friend. This was a rare display of concern and affection from the normally not-so-happy girl.

"Yea, Yomi. I'm fine.", Tomo responded and smiled.

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Kaorin awoke slowly, her eyes adjusting to the darkness as she sat up groaning.

"Where...?", she asked momentarily before realizing that she lay on the floor of the room she shared with Sakaki and little Chiyo-chan.

Sakaki was already awake and running her fingers through Chiyo's hair, who seemed to be crying.

"S..Sakaki-san, is everything...alright?", she asked.

Sakaki smiled and nodded in confirmation before returning to cooing Chiyo into a normal state of calm.

"I had a horrible dream, Kaorin!", Chiyo babbled.

Kaorin stood beside Sakaki and rubbed Chiyo's back in an effort to stop her weeping.

"It's ok Chiyo-chan. It was only a dream."

Chiyo sniffled and looked up at her with teary eyes.

"Yes...only a dream."

Hearing that word...'dream'...Kaorin was filled with a sense of purpose. A sense of what she needed to do.

Turning to Sakaki she spoke.

"Sakaki-san...can I...speak with you?", she said blushing heavily.

"Of course, Kaorin."

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Minamo lay awake in the room she shared with Yukari and Kagura, her athlete-student. SHe couldn't sleep, it felt as if she had made some sort of critical error. It felt as if she couldn't even think straight.

Sighing, she rose from her bed and began to pace. Yukari still lay snoring in her makeshift sleeping compartment on the ground but Kagura seemed to be tossing and turning in fitful slumber.

"Kagura...are you ok?", she whispered, placing her hand on the teen's shoulder.

Kagura's eyes flew open and she let out a short yelp before realizing that it was only Minamo.

"What's wrong?", Minamo asked, helping the girl into a sitting position.

Kagura's laboured breating slowly returned to a normal pace and she then spoke.

"Just...a bad dream."

"About?", Minamo inquired.

"Everything I've ever done wrong returning to me. It's no big deal, coach.", she explained.

Minamo rose from the bed, eyes glazed.

_'I had the same dream...'_

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Osaka stood before the shining orb, eyes glistening spacily. Around the midpoint of the sphere, a vertical crack emitted blue light as the orb spilt into two hemispheres and fall to the table.

"Hehehehe...", Osaka giggled happily.

The two halves quickly dissolved into a fine powder that was immediately whisked away on an unseen, unfelt current of air. The particles dissipated into the unknown mysteriously.

"Heheheheh...that was funny.", Osaka smiled.

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Thousands of miles away in the forests of the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York, two men hiked through the numerous trails, a common pastime between the friends.

"Hold up, Tom. I gotta take a leak.", Phil said to his companion as he dropped his pack on the trail and stepped into the undergrowth.

He stood behind a tree, preparing to relieve himself when something odd caught his eye. Phil stooped over to brush the low plants away from the object.

He gasped as he caught sight of a crystal globe, its inside roiling with a strange blue mist.

"Tom. Tom!", he called.

"What?", Tom said as he approached from behind.

"What do you think this is?", Phil said, motioning to the orb.

"Holy crap! Damned if I know.", Tom answered.

"Hmm..", Phil contemplated for a moment before reaching and placing his fingers around its smooth surface.

Immediately, his entire world changed.

A neverending universe was revealed.

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**Thank you very much to everyone who read and commented on this story, I had a great time writing it and I know it was strange compared to usual Azumanga Daioh fics but I'm glad it was enjoyed.**

**I'm not sure what my next one shall be, but I sorta want to try my hand at a romance fic (with strange twists of course!). But, I've never written a romance story so I dunno how that would go.**

**Maybe I'll write another supernatural tale, (shrug)**

**Any suggestions would be appreciated!**

**-peace**

**-Jay**


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